SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants believe outfielder AJ Pollock can benefit from new surroundings — and help their club make a push for the playoffs.
San Francisco acquired Pollock and infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias from the Seattle Mariners on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline for a player to be named or cash.
Pollock could provide immediate help with the Giants missing outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who went on the 10-day injured list Monday with a strained left hamstring and is likely to miss a few weeks.
The 35-year-old Pollock has struggled in his only season with the Mariners, hitting .173 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 49 games. Pollock was signed to be part of a platoon in left field with Jarred Kelenic but never found consistent playing time after Kelenic’s hot start.
Pollock is on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring and played only six games in July. But he's eligible to be activated Tuesday. The .273 career hitter has spent most of his career in the National League West with Arizona and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“This is a move that suggests we think there’s more in the tank for AJ,” San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said.
The Giants have had Pollock on their board of players they’d like to sign if the right situation came about. Pollock already has relationships with many of the Giants' players.
“As we looked for guys who could help us right now as we’re a little banged up on the position player side, you’re always going to kind of go back to your board of guys you’ve had interest in in the past, had interest in in the offseason,” President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said. “Obviously he hasn’t had a great season in Seattle but we kind of look at sort of some of the underlying measures — plate discipline, of how he’s moving around the field, his sprint speeds are good. We just view him as a really good change-of-scenery candidate.”
Mathias was playing for Triple-A Tacoma after being claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh earlier this month. He was designated for assignment by the Pirates in late June. Mathias appeared in 22 games for the Pirates and hit .231.
He was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.
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AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed to this report.
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